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I don't really hate you. I'm sorry. I was trying to be tongue-in-cheek. You know, sleep deprivation humor. But I think I took it a little too far. Mea culpa.

One thing I'm noticing about having a baby in Italy as opposed to in the U.S. is that in the U.S. it seems to be all about the gear. The stuff. Everyone in the U.S. seems to have the swing, the jumper, the bouncy seat, the Exersaucer, the cool trio stroller. Some people even warm their wet wipes with a special wet-wipe warmer. Most of these things don't even exist here and people tend to live without just fine. They breastfeed without Boppies. They clean their baby's bottom with little gauze strips and soap and water. Many of the gifts I received after Dylan was born were hand-me-downs and used toys. And that's cool too. I don't like stuff just for stuff's sake and I tend to try to avoid waste and excess as much as I can. The one thing I truly, truly miss from the U.S. since I've had a baby is the clothes dryer. I know it's horrible for the environment but, um, it'd be really convenient especially in the winter and when it rains a lot like it did this past week (side note: the clothes Dylan threw up on before being admitted to the hospital last Saturday just got dry yesterday - a week later!). In any case, all of this is to say that I really had to fight Cristiano to get Dylan a Jumparoo (see video). We've decided that we'll hide it when our Italian friends come over.

I've found a website that sells a small selection of big-name American toys (no Exersaucer, however) and was able to procure Dylan a Jumparoo. Despite the weak dollar, everything costs double what it'd cost in the U.S. But what are you going to do?